Summit Public School: Denali

539 East Weddell Drive

School District

Santa Clara County Office Of Education
Grade

6-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:15
Type

charter

School Map for Santa Clara County Office Of Education School District

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by student on March 27, 2023

Very okay school and I just learned that they are actually going to stay open for another year.
Submitted by parent on January 11, 2023

Summit Denali came highly recommended sand the teachers promised to provide my son the structure that he needed. however found out quickly that the administrators nurture bullying and do not report any assaults that occur on their campus. No wonder why we were just told that the Sunnyvale high school and middle school are shutting its doors in June 2023.
Submitted by parent on March 14, 2022

This school is actually so bad my daughter comes home crying every day because of this school.
Submitted by parent on March 14, 2022

The teachers are great, they really take the time to explain the concept and make sure everyone is on track. The community is also nice and they have a very good mindset/approach to learning and college readiness. The only reason this rating is not a 5 is because of the way this school tests you (a.k.a. content assessments) which do not seem like a fair assessment of what you have learned since you can take as many attempts you want to in order to achieve a good grade. A solution could be that they do not allow more than 2 attempts on a content assessment to make it more fair. Otherwise, this school is great.
Submitted by parent on June 29, 2021

This review is specifically focused on the Summit Denali Middle School. I did a tremendous amount of research and reference-checking before choosing Summit Denali. I highly, highly recommend this school. The teaching methodology is superb and innovative, and geared for whole-person learning and developing the children as well-rounded thinkers, not just retaining the subjects long enough to take a test. The curriculum and the teachers make it more engaging and more fun than a normal public school, and the results (test grades, knowledge retention, college acceptances) all show that they are doing something RIGHT! The teachers are caring, passionate, engaging, and dedicated to helping the kids succeed. I wish this school was in existence when I was a kid!During this past school year, I had the ability to witness the (remote) schooling first-hand at home, as I was also working remotely for most of the time. All schools struggled with how to manage their students and classes remotely, some schools more than others. Summit Denali was probably the most solid and the most dynamic style that I witnessed, even compared to other top-rated schools (we have other kids in other schools, too). They were also flexible and dynamic enough to change and adapt as-needed throughout the (pandemic/remote) school year, to keep improving. I was very impressed to see that aspect as well.The teachers and administrators were always very accessible, informative, and supportive of the students, and willing to listen to new ideas and incorporate changes when appropriate. They certainly practice what they preach, and therefore the students benefit from having and seeing their teachers as role models for themselves, too.In summary, I think children coming out of this school will be more well-developed and more prepared for not only high school, but for their future college successes.
Submitted by parent on March 11, 2021

We count ourselves very lucky to have our two sons in the Summit Denali school. When our eldest child graduated local public elementary school, Summit Denali was only open for the second year. We got in and initially were a bit concerned about school's approach to teaching and homework (both parents came from traditional European school's culture). In a few months, we knew we made the right choice. School's philosophy, great curriculum and online tools to use; real-life lessons and projects; exposure to various professional and personal improvement traits, teachers' energy and enthusiasm helped our boys to get better prepared to the real world than many of our friends' kids who graduated public or private high schools. The testament to it was the COVID19. Switching to online schooling was uneventful, as kids were already used to doing most of their work on their computers. Meditation sessions at the beginning of the day and groups activities helped our kids to avoid a lot of issues we heard from other parents. I can't give all the credit to school, of course, as we did our 110% as parents, but it is very true 'it takes a village to raise a child'. With Summit Denali you have a great partner to have your kids prepared to be successful and happy.
Submitted by parent on January 15, 2021

Summit Leadership have not handled remote learning well. They do not communicate with parents and are not open to considering any type of hybrid learning. Their motto, leave no grizzly behind, is empty words. They only care about their funding. Securing residency paperwork is the only thing they really care about communicating. As a parent it’s easy to want to believe their promises and their philosophy but they are just a business and your child is just a source of revenue. The teachers are nice and they try but the administration is terrible.
Submitted by parent on December 11, 2020

It's been such a positive experience for our family, with a structured curriculum that's engaging along with strong self-learning values instilled in their everyday life. Our elementary school wasn’t able to pivot to remote schooling in the spring and finding a better match was key with the pandemic. Denali provides a supportive environment for the kids with instruction but the teachers for the most part of the day, with mentoring time and self-directed periods during the day, giving our 6th grader a chance to flex during longer lunch and step away from the computer. We are grateful for all of the care the teachers and staff provide the students.
Submitted by parent on November 01, 2020

When shelter in place started, Summit Denali staff did their jobs admirably. The kids only had 1 day off from school. The next day, it was back to the same class schedule as before, but virtual, using zoom and other tools. How many other schools in Sunnyvale managed that?
Submitted by parent on August 10, 2020

My daughter has enjoyed her time at Denali for the past 3 years. We stitched to Denali from SJ Unified and their approach to homework is quite different. SJ has a lot of homework, but it's mainly busy work. Denali has much less homework. This allows kids time to focus on extracurricular actives that they enjoy and spend more time together as a family. The majority of the teachers at Denali are very passionate and enthusiastic. Everyone knows each other and it's a very warm and welcoming community.
Submitted by parent on June 05, 2020

Excellent school! Best charter school in Sunnyvale.
Submitted by parent on June 01, 2020

The Best charter Middle and High school in the Bay Area!
Submitted by parent on March 18, 2020

Extremely high! My three children that go to Denali are all in school every day while other schools are closed during the COVID-19 outbreak. SPS is set up uniquely to handle virtual (online) school.
Submitted by parent on December 17, 2019

Excellent in the way of learning in this school. Both my kids are doing super well in academics and enjoy the time been in school.
Submitted by parent on September 09, 2019

10, Sunmit is unlike any other. They have integrity and sincerity that does not exist in neighborhood schools.
Submitted by parent on August 07, 2019

My 7th grader enjoys attending Summit school. She enjoyed learning computer science. She made a website about fishing which is her favorite hobby. She is looking forward to meet her 8th grade teachers. I highly recommend Summit middle school.
Submitted by parent on May 18, 2019

Excellent. I highly recommend Summit Denali. I love the small size of the school, 100 kids per grade. Kids have a consistent mentor group all 3 years of middle school. They also have the ability to work at their own pace.
Submitted by parent on May 07, 2019

My son started in grade 6 and is now a sophomore. He has thrived at Denali. His middle school mentor was very encouraging and supportive and helped him get onto the right path for high school. He's empowered as a learner, has learned how to set goals and make plans to achieve them, is excited about college and his future and he's made close friends. Although he wishes there were a better athletics program and some of the bells and whistles of a traditional school, Denali was absolutely the best choice for him academically.
Submitted by parent on May 05, 2019

This school works for my children. Teachers are really nice! I would recommand this school.
Submitted by parent on April 01, 2019

I wish I had similar school experience when I was growing up. It works great for my child. He is truly thriving at Denali